7 28 2009 Monroe City Council Minutes

Written by Emalee Curtis

MINUTES

MONROE CITY COUNCIL MEETING

JULY 28, 2009

7:30 p.m.

1. Mayor Pro Tempore Troy Torgersen

The regular meeting of the Monroe City Council was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Mayor Pro Tempore Troy Torgersen. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Councilmember Lamar Ogden. Prayer was offered by Councilmember Ed Oldroyd.

The minutes of the July 14, 2009 city council meeting will be ready for approval at the next council meeting.

Present:

Mayor Pro Tempore Troy Torgersen

Councilmembers: Lamar Ogden, Ed Oldroyd, Warren Monroe, Jean Vigil

Recorder Emalee H. Curtis

Public Works Superintendent Devin Magleby

Mayor Nilsson was excused from tonight’s meeting. He is on vacation.

Citizens:

Matea Bradshaw

Jill Miles

Chad Hunt, Richfield Reaper

Kraig Nilsson

Karson Nilsson

2. Citizen input

None

3. Business

(A) Karson Nilsson - Final report on Eagle Scout Project

Karson reported that he has completed his Eagle Scout project at the city library. The project took about 125 hours. 25 individuals helped him. He cleaned the rust from the railing then used a primer followed by two coats of paint on the handicap railing. Councilmembers feel that he did a very good job. The project was completed around the 18^th of July. His efforts to improve the community are very much appreciated.

(B) Open Monroe Irrigation Canal sealed bids - Surplus property sealed bids

No bids were received for rental of the City’s Monroe Irrigation Canal water shares. The canal company allocated about three acre feet of water per share and the farmers aren’t short of irrigation water this summer.

Hy Ipson submitted the following bids for surplus library bookshelves:

#7 $8.00 and #10 $5.00. The council accepted the bids for the bookshelves.

Councilmembers agreed that this interlocal agreement will be beneficial to both the city and the school district. David Church, Monroe City’s Attorney, has reviewed and signed the agreement.

A motion was made by Councilmember Lamar Ogden seconded by Councilmember Ed Oldroyd to approve the Sevier County School District and Monroe City Master Facility Use Interlocal Cooperative Agreement as presented to the council with the correction changing Utah Risk Management Association "URMA" to Utah Local Government Trust "ULGT" as the city’s insurance carrier on page five. All were in favor. Motion carried.

(D) Jack Hammond - report on CERT trailer purchase

Mr. Hammond is not present at tonight’s meeting. He is still gathering information on a Community Emergency Response Team trailer. He will report to the council after this information is received.

Councilmember Oldroyd asked about installation of a new warning siren. The city hasn’t heard anything more from the county about the siren.

(E) Approval of warrant register, cash disbursements and adjustments journals

The above documents were approved and signed by members of the council.

(F) Review Pioneer Day Celebration activities

Matea Bradshaw and Jill Miles met with the council. They feel that the celebration went very well with no major catastrophes. The entertainment was very good. Eric Dodge would like to come back as he commented that he loved Monroe.. Al Taylor’s sound system was exceptional.

The raffle revenues were up. Donations to the celebration were good even in today’s economy.

It was suggested that a first aid station might be set up on the park or have an ambulance on site during the activities following the parade.

Comments:

Councilmember Oldroyd heard complaints about the candy that is thrown at the parade. He felt that it distracted from showing respect for the color guard and American flag as children are busy gathering up candy. He also noticed that there was less trash along the parade route after the parade. It seemed that the park was easier to clean up this year.

Councilmember Ogden had family here for the celebration from out of town who had a wonderful time. He was proud to be part of the celebration. He enjoyed helping with the races.

Councilmember Vigil said she doesn’t know how the activities could be improved. The parade was well organized even with lots of last minute entries.

Other comments:

* Possibly have law enforcement present at the park after the parade

* Assign more help with the cooking at the middle school so councilmembers might spend more time with their families.

* There were concerns expressed by Councilmember Torgersen about the Youth Council dance the night of the 24^th. There was one problem with an individual that didn’t stay in the dance area. Law enforcement did come to take care of this problem. There were also kids in other areas at the middle school up to no good. The comment was made that law enforcement officers were very visible at the dance last year. There were not as many issues at the dance when officers were present. Concern was expressed with the lighting at the dance. Councilmember Torgersen would like to have more lighting available at the dance. There were fireworks being thrown in the area so it was felt that more lights and visible officers are needed at the dance for safety. There was also fireworks issue at the park during the celebration. Illegal fireworks were being sold and set off during the 24^th. The presence of officers in uniform would prevent lots of problems.

* Councilmember Monroe referred to his notes regarding the BBQ. We need to order more beef next year and take it out of the pit earlier. Additional seasoning will be needed for the additional meat for next week. He suggested that the council split the preparation chores and more helpers are needed. We may want to have a second shift to help get the meat ready to be served.

* Councilmember Torgersen’s complaint was that councilmembers can’t spend any time with their families during the celebration.

* Councilmember Monroe commented that having ropes tied to the pavilion worked really good for the races.

* Some comments were made that there were too many loud rocket salutes during the fireworks.

* Councilmembers said that they liked having some of the vendors on the elementary school lawn as it relieved congestion on the park. Matea said that there is space for 45 booths and the committee has to limit the number of booths because of the space.

All in all, committee members and councilmembers feel that the annual pioneer day celebration was a tremendous success. Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to accomplish this city traditional activity.

4. Staff reports

A citizen has suggested that the city sponsor a local farmer’s market. Recorder Curtis will get more details by the next council meeting.

5. Department business - reports and concerns - Law enforcement concerns

Department reports:

Councilmember Ed Oldroyd - Streets Department - Weeds - Equipment

* Councilmember Oldroyd is pleased to see recycling dumpsters located around town. This company also participated in our parade.

* Crews are aggressively spraying weeds. There seems to be better progress on controlling puncture weeds this summer.

* Kaleb Smith did an exceptional job on his Eagle Scout Project at the city cemetery.

* Newsletter article in the next city newsletter that recognizes local Eagle Scout projects. There were two at the library, one at the cemetery. State that we are proud of the scouts in our community. Also, Taylor Sirrine and Michael Parsons constructed welcome to Monroe signs on each edge of town. Scouts have spent numerous hours improving our community.

* Some streets are beginning to break up. Councilmember Oldroyd will get with Devin to plan on maintenance. When chip seal is done, the city will coordinate with White Fence Farms Subdivision to have their required chip seal applied at the same time.

Councilmember Lamar Ogden - Water Department - Irrigation Department - Garbage - Landfill

* Ron Foster Construction is behind schedule on beginning the city’s irrigation improvement project. Their heavy equipment is here and they plan to begin work in the morning. The construction company will pay liquidated damages to the city if the project is not completed on time.

Councilmember Jean O. Vigil - Library Department - Utility Board - Fire Dept - Sr. Citizens

* The library board has suggested that councilmembers confirm the following names as potential candidates to fill future library board vacancies: Matea Bradshaw, Gary Reid, Oscar Winget and Bob Nilsson. Councilmembers said that any one of these individuals would be an excellent choice.

Councilmember Warren Monroe - Electric Department - Mosquito Abatement

* THE UAMPS member conference was held August 10-11-12. There was a lot of good information.

* The June monthly UAMPS power billing for June was $47,000. Our usage is down somewhat and it appears that people are getting our conservation message.

* Jones & DeMille Engineering have set up a meeting at the city hall next Tuesday, August 4 at 9 a.m. Daniel and Josey will be invited to attend. Representatives of the Fishlake National Forest will be at the meeting to provide input on the city’s proposed new hydro generating project. Several councilmembers and the mayor said that they plan to attend. This meeting agenda will be posted as a work meeting.

* There will be a $12,450 rebate to the city from UAMPS for projects that came in under budget. These funds will be reallocated in the electric department budget.

Councilmember Troy Torgersen - Parks Department - Cemetery Department - Planning Commission

* Kraig Nilsson’s high school tennis team hosted a tournament during the 24^th of July city celebration. They were unable to finish the tournament because it got dark before they were finished and there aren’t any lights at the tennis courts. He understands that there are some lights and poles sitting at the city yards. Devin was asked to check and see what is available. Kraig will see what type of lighting would be needed to provide light for the courts. Daniel is going to a workshop next week about efficient lighting. He may have additional information after he attends this workshop. The city might partner with the school district to get lights installed at the tennis courts.

Mayor R. Kirt Nilsson - General administration report

* Mayor Nilsson is out of town tonight.

Doug Gadd arrived at 8:50 p.m.

6. Adjournment

A motion was made by Councilmember Warren Monroe seconded by Councilmember Ed Oldroyd to adjourn at 8:55 p.m. All were in favor. Meeting adjourned.

Approved this 25^th day of August, 2009

_________________________________

Emalee H. Curtis

Monroe City Recorder

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